Closure for containers



. W. A. LORENZ CLOSURE FOR CONTAINERS Filed March 12 1923 Patented @ct. 2:1, 192%.

' WILLIAM A. LORENZ, 0F HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

I CLOSURE FOR CONTAINERS.

Application filed march 12, 1923. Serial no. 624,482.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. LORENZ, a citizen of United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented new and useful Improvements in Closures for Containers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improved means for closing the tops of jars, tumblers or other containers. This closure is adapted for sealing receptacles containing cold products, without the-use of a vacuum; or for sealing receptacles by the well known vacuum processes.

Figure 1 of the drawings represents a plan view of a rectangular piece of sheet metal, with four corners, 8, 8, 8, 8, cut 0E. Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1, in combination with a gasket and a container. Fig. 3 is an outside view of a cap, drawn from'the sheet of Fig. 1, showing shallow anddeep rim portions. Fig. 4

. is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fi -class usually employed presents difliculties that are quite serious. These comprise the proper seatlng of the cap and gasket on the jar rim, and holding them in place while pumping air out of the container; this difiiculty is increased when substances are to be hermetically sealed that contain much air, like peanut butter; the air causes the substance to ooze out beyond the gasket and causes the cap to assume a crooked position on the tumbler when sealed as in the usual practice.

The object of the present invention is to provide a closure that will hold the gasket upon the tumbler rim with just enough pressure to prevent the contents from oozing out durin Another o bject is to provide mechanical means to hold the closure on the container, when hermetically sealed, in addition to the atmospheric pressure exerted on the closure.

the air exhausting operation.

These two'objects are accomplished by providing several spring catches. These are formed in thecap rim and are'sprung inwardly so as to engage a shoulder on the jar or container. These catches are preferably made of different lengths. The shorter catches hold the gasket on the rim of the container during the sealing operation by engaging the shoulder of the jar, and the longer catches engage the said shoulder when the gasket has been compressed and the cap has been forced down during the sealing operation. .Another object ofthis invention is to make the irregularly rimmed closure or cap with inturned edges so as not to cut the hands when handli .the container or removing the cap. This is done by turning the lower edges of thecap rim inwardly. Another object of this invention is to provide a closure that can be closed by pressure exerted on the cap, without the necessity of a vacuum seal. This is accomplished by engaging the spring catches under the shoulder of the container after the'cap has been pressed down on the gasket. Another object'comprises the packing of hot products by the well known method of processing.

This is accomplished by'heating the container, pouring the hot product into the container; putting the cap in place; putting a weight on the top of the cap until the contents cool, and thereby engaging the catches with the jar shoulder. I The container 10 maybe of any desired form; it is provided with arounded rim 11, and a shoulder 12. In the drawings a tumbleris shown, whose rim 11 may be fire finished, if preferred. 1 a i l The closure or cap 1.4: of Fig. 3 is formed from the approximately rectangular blank 15 of Fig. 1. The cap 14 ofFig. 3 has shallow rim portions 16, 16, and deeper rim portions 17, 17 that are formed respectively from the parts18 and 19 of Fig. 1. The

' dotted lines 20 in Fig. 1 indicatewhere the rim of the cap is turned down when drawn in the die to form the rim of the cap.

The cap rim 22 is made shghtly larger than the upper part 23 of the container, so

as to allow the edges of the rim to be turned in as at 25 in Fig. 2. This turning in of the rim edge assists in centralizing the cap on The cap 14 is also provided with a pair of oppositely disposed short spring catches 28, 28, and with two pairs of oppositely disposed long spring catches 29, :29 and 30, 30. These spring catches are punched in the deep portions 17 of the rim, and they are bent inwardly as at 31, 31 in Fig. 4.

The gasket 32 is placed in the inner corner of the cap 14:; it may be of rubber or composition, and it may be cemented in place.

hen a cap 14 is placed on the tumbler 10, the gasket 32 will rest on the rim 11 of the tumbler. In pressing the cap down, the spring catches 28, 29 and 30 will be sprung outwardly. But when the shorter catches 28, 28 pass the shoulder 12 of the tumbler, they will spring inwardly and engage the under part of the enlarged top 23 of the jar at the time that the gasket 32 rests on the rim 11 of the tumbler, thus preventing the contents from being pumped out of the container. This position is shown in Fig. 5, where the package is placed below the presser 35, ready to have-the air exhausted from the container.

In Fig. 6 the air is assumed to havebeem exhausted from the container, and the plunger 35 has descended on the ca 14:,compressing the gasket 32, and bringing the catches 30 a little below the shoulder 12 and permitting them to spring inwardly and under the shoulder 12 of the tumbler. As the plunger 35 rises, after the sealing operation, the gasket 32'expands a little, thus allowing the catches 30 to engage the shoulder 12, and ,add its holding power to the atmospheric pressure exerted on-the cap 14.

The number of short or long catches may be modified but not less than two oppositely dlsposed catches are required.

The shoulder 12 is madeannular, so that the catches will engage at any part of the shoulder 12. This annular shoulder is preferably made quite shallow, and square-cornered, in order to allow the thin spring catches to engage it.

. To readily open this closure, a knife or other pointed tool is injected under the spring catches at 36, so as to spring the catches outwardly to disengage them from the shoulder 12; and when thus disengaged, the further insertion of the tool will spring the cap runaway from the gasket, and admit air to the interior of the container.

To. replace the cap and make it hold on the ]3.I, the catches are sprung inwardly as in Fig. 4:, and when the cap is pushed down on the tumbler. the catches will engage the shoulder, and thus hold the cap securely on the1ar.

This closure which is adapted to seal articles by the well lmown vacuum method,- is also adapted to seal cold articles such as pickles, fish and other articles. This is accomplished by packing the container, placingthe cap and gasket on rim of the container, then forcing the cap downwardly by any pressin means, so as to cause the catches to engage the shoulder on the container.

Tn processing hot goods it is preferable to heat the container; then the hot food is poured into the container, and the cap is placed on the container and pressure is plied on the cap whil the package cools; when cooled the cap will be held on by at rnospheric pressure. This pressure must be sutlicient to bring the catches below the shoulder of the container.

Various modifications may be made in this closure without departing from the spirit of the invention.

ll hereby claim as, my invention:

1. The method of hermetically sealing a package comprising a sharp shouldered jar,

a cap having inwardly bent spring catches oi difi'erent lengths and a resilient gasket in the cap, which consists in pressing the cap and the gasket upon the jar, until the shorter spring catches engage the jar shoulder; then exhausting the air from the jar, then compressing the cap and gasket still more, until the longer catches engage the jar shoulder; then releasing the pressure on the cap, allowing the gasket to. expand, and thereby causing the catches to engage with the shoulder of the jar.

2. A. closuref or containers, comprising a cap having shallow and deep rim portions, the deep portions being provided with oppollli sitely disposed inwardly bent spring catches lllll to engage a shoulder on the container at differen-t times during the sealing operation. V 5. In combination a container having an having a rim and a compressible gasket be tween the top of the cap and the upper edge of the container, and adapted to be con.-

.preswd during the sealing operation, said cap having a plurality of sets of angularly bent fingers, or catches, the catches of each set being angularly spaced at substantially equal distances, the operative edges of the several sets of catches being in different planes, to successively engage said shoulder. Signed at Hartford, Connecticut, this 10th day of March, 1923. V 1 WILLIAM A. LORENZ.

Witnesses:

Wrn A. ZEISER, LILLIAN M. TAYLOR.

'external'shoulder adjacent its mouth, a cap 

